Pinterest challenge: “love it or hate it” vietnamese beef stew

This may have been the love of first sight but definitely not the love of the first taste. As soon as I saw One-pot Vietnamese Beef Stew pic on Pinterest I was sure I wanted to try it straight away. I was particularly interested in trying all those spices that I have never used before (such as lemon grass or kaffir lime leaves), so I followed the recipe quite literally (not substituting a thing!). The result? Well, it was something that me and Joni was not quite prepared for! Aniseed taste took over the overall flavour. Maybe I have overdone with star anise? So my initial response was to add more sugar to reduce that strong flavour, but nothing helped. Eventually realised that if you eat it on toast with some soft cheese on top then the stew taste blends in quite nicely. So you could say that we got used to taste! I cooked quite a lot of that stew so had a chance to eat it in many ways although I was so tempted to throw it away (even if I hate waste). So there you go, thats my feedback. So if you like that kind of flavour, then go ahead, it was fun cooking it!VIETNAMESE BEEF STEW practically copied from Supergolden Bakes

900g beef, cut into cubes

2 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp ground pepper

2 lemongrass stalks, finely chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp palm sugar (or dark brown sugar)

4 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 green chillies, finely chopped

4 large tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

2 kaffir lime leaves

625ml | 2 1/2 cups hot beef stock

450g | 1lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

Basil leaves, chopped to garnish

1. Combine the beef, flour, spice, pepper, lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Leave to marinate for an hour.2. Preheat the oven to 160C and have all your vegetables prepared. Place chopped chillies and shallots separately from tomatoes and carrots (you don't have to, but it helped me to keep organised as these were going to the pot at separate times). 3. Put the oil in the frying pan and heat over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, lower the temperature to medium-low and brown the beef cubes. Add the shallots and chillies and fry for a couple of minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, carrots, cinnamon stick, star anise, kaffir lime leaves and stock and bring slowly to a rolling simmer. Transfer to the casserole and to the oven.5. Cook for an hour then add the butternut squash (be careful the pot will be very hot) and give the stew a stir. Return to the oven and cook for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour until meat is very tender.6. Add some chopped basil leaves, check the seasoning and serve with crusty bread.And try it on top of the bread with some crumbled soft cheese on top!Have a lovely week!